The 2024-2025 school year has brought many changes, from new administrators to campus updates. Here is a guide to everything you need to know coming back this year.
In 2023, CHS was granted $340 million through Measure S. Most of the Measure S updates were completed during the summer. Throughout the 2023-2024 school year, the H-building experienced problems with the roof and the HVAC unit, both of which received partial upgrades in July.
“Honestly, the plans worked out really well. I’m very appreciative of the school district for using Measure S to support us in getting a new HVAC unit in the H building and the paint,” said Principal Bennett Wutkee.
The district will begin more repairs on the HVAC unit, specifically the upstairs, following the first semester, requiring three teachers to move classrooms. Concerning the leaking roof, contractors discovered that the seals were letting water into classrooms. All roof seals were fixed, and according to Wutkee, there should not be any problems with them.
The PFC donated new tables and benches to CHS after Wutkee requested them. Umbrellas for the table are said to be arriving soon. The table design allows for more to be placed around campus, giving students more room to eat and sit during nutrition and lunch.
“I’ve also been happy because I walk around, and I see eight kids sitting at a table just looking at each other and talking. Where before, you would see maybe two people talking, and the rest on their phones. I see a lot of kids, like, just hanging out and enjoying each other,” said Wutkee.
Because of new grant funding, Broadcasting has received all new equipment. The class was moved into a more extensive classroom, which includes a room for controls, a greenscreen room, and an editing room. Additionally, Broadcasting was gifted 32 new MacBooks for editing, allowing more students to work on projects at once.
“Imagine you could go do a project, and you can spend time messing with the software. You’re not feeling rushed for the next person to get on the computer,” said Wutkee.
It was not just broadcasting that experienced upgrades; costume design was given a conveyor belt for hanging costumes.
“They got a conveyor like you’d see in a dry cleaner. So now they can just get tons of clothes and in a smaller space,” said Wutkee.
Students are still required to show their IDs to get into school this year. Juniors and Seniors, or those with a free period, must scan their IDs to leave campus. Once schedule changes are made, the scanners will be the only method of leaving campus, and Aeries and 5-star will not be allowed.
“We’ve been using 5-star as a backup over the first five days, for with all the schedule changes that are happening, it’s kind of hard for the IDs to keep up because we have to upload a list, so while the counselors are still making some changes, and unscheduled periods are being changed, we haven’t been able to communicate to the ID system who has an unscheduled period,” said Wutkee.
To help make leaving campus smoother, Calabasas will be getting a couple more ID scanners in addition to the five that the school currently has, according to Wutkee.
Along with new campus upgrades, CHS has two new assistant principals. John Wells is the new Assistant Principal of Safety, Facilities, and Athletics, and Corine Musgroves is the new Assistant Principal of Curriculum and Instruction.
“I think they’ve done fantastic, starting with Mr. Wells. He comes from Burbank, where he was in charge of ASB for seven years and oversaw athletics for a couple of years. So he actually comes here having done a lot of what he had done before, and so he’s just learning who the different people are in the district, and kind of some of our procedures versus what he done before,” said Wutkee. “Ms. Musgrove’s has done an incredible job upstairs. I just think her personality is a really good fit for the needs and the flow of the counseling department.”
Most campus updates will happen in the summer of 2025, completing the Measure S plans.
